Isaaru's World Tournament Rise of Landstar
by Landstar 01
Summary: This is my story of Isaaru Watanabe, a young boy who plays the YuGiOh game using a series of Landstar monsters. Watch, as he fights his way to the top of the world rankings, through the biggest World Championships in the 20year history of the game.
1. Chapter 1: Birth of the Landstar Duelist

Isaaru, Episode 1 Birth of the Landstar Duellist 

It starts off as a normal, sunny day in Isaaru's world. Isaaru is a young and budding Yu-Gi-Oh duellist, much like everyone in his neighbourhood. He has an unorthodox style of duelling, as if he tries to humiliate his opponents, and have as much fun as possible at the same time. He is in his bedroom, adding some finishing touches to his deck.

"Should I use 2 Marauding Captains, or 3?" says Isaaru, to his sister, Tori. His sister is also a duellist, but is much older than him, and has more experience of the game at a national level.

"Definitely 3. You know how Marauding Captain works don't you? You can use his effect to swarm your opponent with those monsters of yours, and give them some added protection," said Tori.

"What will happen if I lose? I don't want to lose in my first tournament."

"Well, I know you'll do fine. You've beaten everyone in your school, and I'm the only one you haven't managed to beat."

"Ok then. I'll try my best. I just hope they don't laugh at me or anything like that. Oh wait, we've got to go now," he says, as he looks up at his clock. He picks up his backpack, grabs his cards and rushes out the door.

Isaaru and Tori walk down the street together, and they reach a large building, much like a village hall. This is where Isaaru is entering into his first tournament, and hopes to win. He walks into the main room, and sees well over a hundred people, all duelling each other and trading cards. He then sees a small desk to the right of the entranceway, and goes over there to register his deck in the tournament. The man at the counter asks him for the entry fee, and a list of cards he will be using. Isaaru hands over the money, and a small piece of paper, with a list of card names scribbled on it. The man reads the deck list and starts laughing, but still enters him into the tournament. Soon after they arrive, the round one pairings are posted up, and Isaaru and Tori go over to check Isaaru's first match line-up.

"Ahhh!" screams Tori. "You're going against Dominic Donovan."

"Huh? Who?" says Isaaru, who has never heard of the name before.

"Dominic Donovan. He's a really rich kid, and the best duellist in the country. He beat me at the national championships last year."

Then, a guy around Tori's age comes over to the two of them, and also looks at the listings. "Well, then. If it isn't that weak little girl I beat at the national finals. Long time no see Tori."

"Um, hi Dominic," says Tori, blushing.

"So, looks like I'm facing some guy named Isaaru. I hope he's good so I can finally get some sort of a challenge." Isaaru hears this and stands in front of Dominic.

"Yeah, I'm your first opponent," says Isaaru. "I think it's about time I teach you a lesson for beating my sister and knocking her out of the nationals."

"So, are you Tori's sister then? Hah! You won't last 5 minutes if you're anything like your sister was. I think I should show you how things are done around here. Let's duel Isaaru." Isaaru and Dominic stride over to the table they're allocated, and shuffle each other's decks. The announcer says for everyone to start their duels. "So then, Isaaru. Are you ready?"

"You bet. It's time to duel, Dominic!" Both competitors draw 5 cards from their decks, and the duel begins, starting from 8000 life points each.

"I'll go first then," says Dominic. "I summon the fairy monster, Shining Angel (1400/800), in attack mode!" Dominic throws down an effect monster card with a picture of a shining fairy on the front. Isaaru doesn't look too worried. "Next, I'll activate the field spell card, Luminous Spark, to give my Shining Angel, and all other light attribute monsters a power boost of 500 attack points." Shining Angel now has (1900/300) "And with, that, I'll lay one card face-down, and end my turn."

"Nice opening move. Now, let's see mine. I draw…" Isaaru picks up his card, and looks in dismay. Nothing in his hand has enough strength to beat Shining Angel. However, he does notice the trap card Sakuretsu Armour in his hand. "Ok then. Meet my favourite monster. I summon the Swordsman of Landstar (500/1200), in attack mode!" Everyone watching the duel, including Dominic starts laughing, and Isaaru starts to get nervous. "Errr…ok…um… I'll then play 2 cards face down, and end my turn."

"I thought I'd actually get a challenge from you," says Dominic. "Oh well. Now I'll show you why I'm the best around here. I activate the continuous spell card, Frontline Base. Then, I'll use Frontline Base's special effect to summon the machine monster, W-Wing Catapult (1800/1100) to the field, and follow up by normal summoning my V-Tiger Jet (2100/1400) in attack mode." Dominic can hear everyone standing around him whispering things such as this new kid's going to lose now, and he gets more and more nervous. "Well then, I'll summon a different monster to the field. My sacrificing my V-Tiger Jet and my W-Wing Catapult, I can fusion summon the all-powerful VW-Tiger Catapult (2500/1700) to the field. And now, it's time to end this. VW will attack your swordsman."

"Come on Isaaru!" shouts Tori, as she can see Isaaru looking nervous. "I know you can beat him!"

"Yeah. I can, can't I," says Isaaru. "I activate the trap card Sakuretsu Armour. This card allows me to negate your attack, and destroy your Tiger Catapult."

"No!" responds Dominic. "I can use this card." He points the face-down card he played in his previous turn. "I play Trap Jammer. This negates the effect of your Sakuretsu Armour, leaving my Machine free to attack you."

"Very well," says Isaaru, now back at the top of his game. "I'll then play a different trap. Negate Attack!"

Dominic just shrugs, saying, "Well, I don't mind that. If I can't attack, then I'll end my turn."

"Good. Time to bring the advantage back to me." Isaaru draws his next card and smiles. "I activate the spell card, Polymerization. This allows me to sacrifice Swordsman of Landstar, and the Grappler of Landstar I have in my hand to summon this card." He looks through the nine cards of his fusion deck, and finds the card he wants. "I summon the Raging Swordsman of Landstar (2200/1500)! In attack mode."

The crowd looks astonished. This is a card that they have not yet seen. The tournament organiser looks over at what has been played, and looks amazed. He then goes to his microphone and says to everyone, "Hey everyone, come and look at the duel going on at table 29. It looks as though a newcomer is about to beat the national champion!" Everyone in the room, who isn't duelling, rushes over to get a good view of what's going on.

"Well, it looks as though an audience has come to see you fall flat on your face Dominic," says Isaaru, who is feeling a lot more confident now. "I would hate to disappoint them, so I guess I'm going to have to beat you. I activate the equip spell card, Landstar Shot! This spell card can only be given to a Landstar monster, like my Raging Swordsman. It gives my monster an attack increase of 600 points (2800/1500). Now then, let's give these people a nice show. I'll attack your Tiger Catapult with my Raging Swordsman, eliminating it from the field."

The whole crowd gasps, as Dominic's life points drop down from 8000, to 7700. He looks astonished.

"I'm not done yet, Dominic. I'll set the last card in my hand face-down, and then end my turn. Give me all you've got."

"Fine then." Dominic draws his card, but with only 2 cards in hand, he has very limited options as to what to do. "Ok. I'll set one monster in defence mode, and put Shining Angel into defence as well. That ends it for me."

"Good, but before I start my turn, I'll flip over this," says Isaaru. "The quick-play spell card, Multi-Draw. This card is one of the rarest cards I have. I can only activate in my opponent's end phase, when I have no hand. It allows me to draw 5 cards in my next draw phase."

"What!" says Dominic. "That's ridiculous!"

"Tough. It's a card, and it will allow me win in my next couple of turns," says Isaaru, as he draws 5 cards to start his next turn. "Let's end this Dominic. Firstly, when I start my turn, my Raging Swordsman's special ability comes into effect, reducing his level by 1 star. Then, I'll activate Pot of Greed to draw 2 more cards from my deck. With that, I activate the spell card Polymerization, fusing my Brigadier of Landstar and my Knight of Landstar in my hand, to summon the Impregnable Brigadier of Landstar (1500/2200)."

"This is impossible," says Dominic, who looks distraught.

"That's what I would think," says Isaaru. "Anyway, back to my turn. I play the spell card, Raigeki, to destroy both of your monsters." Dominic's face-down Y-Dragon Head (2000/1200) and Shining Angel are destroyed, leaving him wide open for a direct attack. "And now, I'll summon Marauding Captain (1200/400), in attack mode. Captain's effect allows me to summon another low-level monster to the field, so I'll play the Grappler of Landstar (1000/500). Now that I have all of these cards under my control, I'll attack your life points directly with all 4 of my monsters, leaving you pretty weak (7700-2800-1500-1200-10001200). What do you say now?"

Dominic is left dazed after the turn. The can hardly talk. "You… You… You just, did so much to me in that short time, with a bunch of rubbish monsters. I don't believe this. I can't go on." He draws his card, and looks at it. "I draw, Z-Metal Tank, and all I have in my hand is that, and a Machine King. I can't win. I forfeit. You're just too good." Dominic places his hand on top of his deck, and bows his head. Suddenly, the crowd around them start cheering for Isaaru. Tori jumps through the crowd and throws her arms around Isaaru.

"Oh my god!" says Tori. "I can't believe you won. I really can't. You know, you might just have a chance in this tournament if carry on like that."

The announcer grabs his microphone, ecstatic with the excitement of what has just happened. "And we have a winner. Someone has finally beaten Dominic Donovan, the national champion."

Isaaru, smiling with joy, picks up his deck, walks over to Dominic, and puts out his hand. "That was a good game. Thanks for that."

Dominic looks up, and shakes him by the hand, but can't say anything. He just picks up his cards and walks out of the room.

END

Next time (Episode 2: Summon, the Ultimate Warrior):

Having been declared the winner of his first match, Isaaru plays his way through the remaining rounds of the tournament, with great ease, and finds himself in the top-8 of the tournament. He wins his first match, closely, and has more difficulty with the next match, but then finds himself in the final match, against his sister Tori. Determined to beat his sister, for the first time, he shuffles her deck, and sits down opposite her.

"Tori," says Isaaru. "I just want to say, I appreciate everything you've done to help me in this tournament. But now, I'm afraid I have to put all of that aside. I won't expect you to go easy on me, as I won't on you. It's time to duel, sis!"

New cards used by Isaaru in this chapter (that are not in the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG):

Brigadier of Landstar

Warrior / EARTH

900 / 1200 / 3

Grappler of Landstar

Warrior / EARTH

1000 / 500 / 3

Knight of Landstar

Warrior / EARTH

500 / 2200 / 3

Raging Swordsman of Landstar

Warrior / Fusion / Effect / EARTH

2200 / 1500 / 5

"_Swordsman of Landstar" + "Grappler of Landstar"_

_The fusion summon of this card can only be conducted with the above fusion material monsters. During each of your own standby phases in which this card is face-up on your side of the field, decrease the level of this card by 1 star._

Impregnable Brigadier of Landstar

Warrior / Fusion / Effect / EARTH

1500 / 2200 / 5

"_Brigadier of Landstar" + "Knight of Landstar"_

_The fusion summon of this card can only be conducted with the above fusion material monsters. During each of your own standby phases in which this card is face-up on your side of the field, decrease the level of this card by 1 star._

Landstar Shot

Equip Spell / SPELL

_This card may only be equipped to a monster with the word "Landstar" in its card name. Increase the ATK of the equipped monster by 600 points._


	2. Chapter 2: Summon the Ultimate Warrior

Isaaru, Episode 2 Summon, the Ultimate Warrior 

Having been declared the winner of his very first tournament match, Isaaru plays his way through the remaining rounds of the tournament, with great ease, and finds himself in the top-8 of the tournament. He wins his first match, closely, and has more difficulty with the next match. Isaaru is seen sitting the table at the very front of the hall. He has, in front of him, a fusion monster card known as the "Raging Swordsman of Landstar," one of his favourite cards, and he is about to make his final attack.

"And now I'll use Raging Swordsman of Landstar to attack your Jinzo, ending the game," says Isaaru to his penultimate opponent, his sister Tori finishing her game right next to them at the same time.

"Nice work Isaaru," says the Tournament Organiser, as he steps forward and shakes Isaaru's hand. "I can see a bright future for you around here." Having finished his match, Isaaru walks over to the next table, where his sister has just finished her match, with a big smile on her face.

"So?" asks Isaaru, "Who won? Who's my next opponent?"

"You'll never believe this, but I'm your final opponent," responded Tori.

"Ah! But…I've never been able to beat you before."

"I know. This is going to be fun."

The tournament organiser steps up to his microphone to announce the final match pairings, "Well everyone! We've had an eventful tournament here, with some major upsets and some major surprises. The final match will be between Isaaru and Tori. They have 30 minutes in which to prepare their decks and modify them if they wish to do so."

Isaaru can't think of anything he can possibly do to his deck, so he walks around the groups of people and tries to trade away some of his worse cards. All of a sudden, Dominic comes over to him, with a single card held in his hand.

"Could I speak with you for a moment, Isaaru," whispers Dominic, so that no one else can hear him. "I have something to give you." Dominic goes with Dominic, and he is shown a brand new fusion monster card that he doesn't recognise. "This is a new Landstar monster, only recently released. I can't use it, but I thought that maybe you can."

"You serious?" asks Isaaru, confused as to why Dominic would try to help him. "You mean, you want me to have this card."

"Yeah, just put it to some good use against that sister of yours."

"Great! Thanks a lot. I won't let you down."

"I know you won't." Dominic starts to walk off, but he turns around and shouts back to Isaaru, "Hey, Isaaru. You and I will meet again, and next time, I will not lose. I promise you."

"Don't get your hopes up. I can't lose," responds Isaaru. He has a big smile across his face, and he looks at the clock and sees that he only has a couple of minutes left before the match starts. He looks over at the table where his match will start, and sees Tori sitting down, beckoning him over. He adds the new card he got to his fusion deck, and goes over to the table to face his sister.

He now finds himself in the final match, against his sister, Tori. Determined to beat his sister, for the first time, he shuffles her deck, and sits down opposite her.

"Tori," says Isaaru. "I just want to say, I appreciate everything you've done to help me in this tournament. But now, I'm afraid I have to put all of that aside. I won't expect you to go easy on me, as I won't on you. It's time to duel, sis!"

"Likewise, brother," replies Tori, as she hands Isaaru's deck back to him. "Let's duel!"

"And now," shouts the tournament organiser, "We come to the final match of this tournament. Competitors, shake hands (Isaaru and Tori shake hands), and start your duel. Due to lengths of previous matches, and other various statistics, Tori has been the most outstanding duellist here, and so she will start this match off."

"Very well. Time to duel!" announces Tori, as she draws six cards from the top of her deck. "To start things off, I'll simply play one card face down, and summon Royal Knights (1300/800) in attack mode." She throws down a card with a picture of a shining knight on the front, holding a small sword glowing with energy. "With that, I'll end my turn."

"Well, decent start sis, but it just isn't good enough," remarks Isaaru, as he also picks up 6 cards from his deck. "I'll start by summoning the Knight of Landstar (500/2200) in defence mode, and playing two face down cards to protect him. That'll end my turn."

"That is a good start, but now I'll show you why that tactic won't work against me. I'll draw, and summon a level 6 monster to the field without making a sacrifice."

"Huh?" questions Isaaru. "You can't do that!"

"Well, I have some new cards since we last played each other. I summon the all-powerful Lightning Gear – Ouka (2400/1400) in attack mode. You see, I can summon this monster without a sacrifice, as long as I send this card to the graveyard at the end of my turn. I'll also play the spell card, Double Summoning. Playing this lets me discard 1 card in my hand (sends "Purple Declarer" to the graveyard) to have an extra normal summon this turn. So, I'll summon Banisher of the Light (100/2000), in defence mode. As long as Banisher is on the field, any card that would be sent to the graveyard is removed from the game instead. Now then, I'll attack your wimpy Knight with my Lightning Gear!"

"I don't think so! I'm sorry sis, but I play the trap card Magic Cylinder! This will negate your attack, and send it back at you as a direct attack on your life points." With that, Tori screams, as she loses 2400 of her life points.

Isaaru – 8000, Tori – 5600

"Fine then," scowls Tori. "I'll set one card face down, and end my turn. Since I end my turn, my Lightning Gear – Ouka is destroyed, and removed from the game with Banisher's effect."

"Good. Now I can play something," responds Isaaru. "I'll draw one card, and summon my Jerry Beans Man (1750/0) in attack mode. Then, I can play the equip spell, Sword of the Soul Eater. Playing this allows me to tribute any number of level 3 normal monster cards on my side of the field to give one of my other cards a power boost, so I'll tribute Knight of Landstar, to give Jerry Beans Man another 1000 attack points (2750/0). With that, I'll use him to attack your Royal Knights!" (Tori 5600 – 2750 + 1300 4150)

Isaaru – 8000, Tori - 4150

"Well then. That was a very amateurish move, wasn't it?" remarks Tori. "You didn't need Jerry Beans Man's power up, and now you've left yourself vulnerable for an attack. I draw! And now I'll summon another Lightning Gear monster, and the most powerful of them all. I'll first play the spell card Book of Moon, which allows me to switch Jerry Beans into defence mode, destroying his power-up."

"No! That leaves me defenceless."

"It sure does. I'll now sacrifice Banisher of the Light to summon Lightning Gear – Rumbling Dragon (2900/1800) in attack mode! My monster is a level 8 card, but it only takes 1 tribute if it gets destroyed during the end of my turn. Also, he has the effect that is known as trample, where he deals damage to your life points, regardless of which position your monster is in. So, I'll use it to attack your face-down Jerry Beans Man!" Isaaru doesn't have anything useful to protect his monsters, and his life points drop to within only a thousand of Tori's. (Isaaru 8000 – 2900 + 0 5100). "But I'm not done, yet. I'll pay 1000 of my life points (Tori 4150 – 1000 3150) to activate the permanent trap card, Skill Drain! As long as this stays on the field, all monster effects are negated, which means that my Lightning Gear monster is not destroyed at the end of my turn, which is now."

Isaaru – 5100, Tori – 3150

"Well it looks as if Isaaru's lucky streak comes to an end, right here folks!" announces the tournament organiser. Dominic is watching the duel from a distance.

"Come on Isaaru. Use the card I gave you," he whispers under his breath.

"Well then, I think it's time I played something, don't you? I'll draw my card, and activate it, Pot of Greed! This allows me to draw two cards from my deck, and one of them is this one, Card of Demise! This is another draw engine. It allows me to draw 5 cards from my deck, as long as I discard my whole hand after five turns." He looks at his new cards, and sees a way he may be able to beat his sister after all. "Ok then sis, ready to start losing?"

"Hardly," replies Tori.

"Well, you should be. I activate the spell card, Landstar Forces! This spell card allows me to special summon any number of normal Landstar monsters from my hand to the field, and I have 3! I summon Swordsman of Landstar (500/1200), Brigadier of Landstar (900/1200) and Grappler of Landstar (1000/500)."

"Yeah, I know you have that card. That's all well and good," says Tori, "but none of them come close to my Lightning Gear monster."

"I know that, but my next few cards will match your monster, point for point. I activate Monster Reborn, which allows me to bring Knight of Landstar (500/2200) back to the field. And now, I can reveal my face-down card, Landstar Unison!"

"Landstar Unison?" gasps Tori. "You didn't have that card in your deck before!"

"Yeah, well my deck has been updated as well."

"Good work Isaaru," whispers Dominic. "Now show her what that new monster can do."

"I activate Landstar Unison, which allows me to summon a monster in my fusion deck, which normally would be very hard for me to summon. Normally, the monster I'm about to summon would be a fusion of 2 fusion monsters, taking 3 Polymerization cards to summon. But with this spell card, I can skip those fusion stages, and fuse these four monsters in front of me to summon the card straight away!"

"Ah!" shouts Tori, evidently surprised by this new card.

"Therefore, I sacrifice all four of my Landstar monsters, to summon The Ultimate Warrior of Landstar! (2900/2300)"

"Ultimate Warrior?"

"Yes. This card is one the most powerful Landstar monsters ever released. It has a similar effect to its fusion materials. During each of my stand-by phases, its level is reduced by 2 stars. He has a second ability, but that is irrelevant for now. I'll lay two cards face-down, just in case, and equip my warrior with the Fusion Sword – Murasame Blade. This gives him an extra 800 attack points, more than enough to destroy your monster. I'll now attack your Lightning Gear with my Ultimate Warrior, and take another big chunk out of your life points." (Tori 3150 – 3700 + 2900 2350)

Isaaru – 5100, Tori - 2350

"Grrr," growls Tori, under her breath. "Well, you took down my Lightning Gear monsters, but I have some other cards I can easily beat you with. I'll draw, and start out with Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy my own Skill Drain card, and then I'll summon a monster known as Reiyad of Relief! (1400/1500) Then, I'll activate the spell card Swords of Revealing Light!"

"And that's where you're wrong. I'll respond to your spell card, with Magic Jammer. I can discard the last card in my hand to the graveyard to negate your spell and destroy it."

"And that is again, where you are wrong! Firstly, when a counter trap card, like Magic Jammer, is activated, my Reiyad's effect comes into play. This allows me to return two fairy monsters that have been removed from play in this duel to my hand. And one of the cards I return is this one, Purple Declarer! When Purple Declarer is in my hand, and you activate a trap card in my turn, I can discard Purple Declarer to the grave yard, along with my Lightning Gear – Ouka, which I just recovered too, to negate your trap, allowing my Swords card to remain on the field. Too bad." Isaaru sighs as he is forced to add Magic Jammer to his graveyard as well. "Now then, you can't attack for another three turns, and I have a monster on the field just in case you manage to seep through my defences. It's your turn."

"At last! I think I'll draw," starts off Isaaru. He looks at the card he has picked up, and sees "Landstar Shot." "Well, I'd might as well not waste this. I'll just end my turn, but of course Ultimate Warrior is now a level 5 monster."

"Very well. I'll draw my card, and just summon a second monster to the field: Artemis of Harvest (1600/1700) in attack mode. With that, I'll end my turn."

"Good. My turn now, and I'll play the continuous spell card, Level Limit Area – B! This turns all of our monsters into defence mode, if they have 4 stars or more." With that, both of Tori's monsters are turned into defence position, being level 4 monsters, but Isaaru doesn't change his Ultimate Warrior.

"Shouldn't you change your warrior's position then?" asked Tori.

"Nope," responded Isaaru. "My monster, since it has been in play for 2 turns, is now a level 3 monster. Anyway, I'll end my turn now."

"Well, there's nothing I can do. I'll draw one card, the spell card Pot of Greed! Now I'll draw 2 cards, set one of them face-down and end my turn."

"Now, I'll finish this, your Swords of Revealing Light is now destroyed, so I can go ahead and attack your monsters. I'll draw, set one card face-down, and now, my Swordsman's special effect comes into play. When he is a level 1 monster, his attack points are doubled, which now gives him a total of 6600 attack points!"

"Come into my trap," whispers Tori.

"Now, I'll use Ultimate Swordsman to attack your Reiyad of Relief!"

"And that is where you fail. I'll activate to counter trap card, Mirror Force, destroying your Ultimate Swordsman."

"Ah! No! My swordsman."

"But that's not all. First, Reiyad of Relief grants me 2 fairy monsters that had been previously destroyed and removed from play, and by Artemis of Harvest lets me draw 1 card, but most importantly, you've triggered the effect of my ultimate fairy monster. When I successfully activate a counter trap, I am allowed to sacrifice all of my monsters in play, and summon the Bringer of Judgement – Boltenis! (2800/1400). When Boltenis is summoned, I can destroy one card on your side of the field for every fairy monster I sacrificed to summon it, so I'll destroy your Level Limit Area – B, and that pathetic face-down card."

"But, that was my last defence!" exclaimed Isaaru.

"That's right. And now it's my turn. I summon Lightning Gear – Skyflash (1000/500) in attack mode. This monster lets me draw one card when it does damage to your life points with a direct attack. It's time for you to lose this tournament. Skyflash, Boltenis, attack him directly." She points her finger at Isaaru, as his life points drop down to below hers for the first time in the duel. (Isaaru 5100 – 2800 – 1000 1300)

Isaaru – 1300, Tori – 2350.

"I'll end my turn, and see if you can come back from that crushing blow."

"I only have one card with which to turn this game around," sighs Isaaru. "Let's see now." He picks up his card, and smiles. "I've drawn, the spell card Graceful Charity! I'll activate it, so I can draw 3 cards, and discard 2 of them." He draws 3 cards, and picks out the one he wants to keep. "I'm sorry sis, but it's time for me to win this duel. I activate the spell card, Premature Burial! I have to give up 800 life points to play this card, but it is worth it (Isaaru 1300 – 800 500). I can now special summon my Ultimate Warrior of Landstar (5800/2300) to the field, in attack mode. You see, when I special summon my Warrior from my graveyard, he keeps the number of stars he had when he was destroyed in the field."

Isaaru – 500, Tori - 2350

"Well, that really is the end of the duel. Well done Isaaru," says Tori, knowing what is about to happen. "Go ahead, finish this."

"With pleasure," replies Isaaru, a tear dripping down his face. "Now, I'll attack your Bringer of Judgement – Boltenis, with my Ultimate Swordsman of Landstar, ending the game!" (Tori 2350 – 5800 + 2800 0)

Isaaru – 500, Tori – 0

"I lost to you. At last. Well done Isaaru, very well done." By this time, Isaaru is crying, with tears of joy, and he collapses into his sisters arms.

"Thank you Tori. Thank you so much," cried Isaaru. He stands up, and composes himself as the Tournament Organiser comes over to him with his prizes for winning the tournament.

END

Next time (Chapter 3: Arrival of the Gods)

As Isaaru wins the tournament, he is confronted by a large, shady figure who tells him of a major international tournament in the ruins of Domino city, in which legendary duellists such as Mai Valentine, Joey Wheeler and Bastion Misawa would be competing. He has always been keen to see Domino city, the site at which his heroes duelled in the youth of their careers, and he and his sister are whisked away. They are given brand new duel disks by this new character, but the plane they are in is suddenly taken out of control. The shady figure explains that this is a test of Isaaru's skills as a promising duellist. He straps on a duel disk of his own, and inserts his deck into the slot. Isaaru responds in the same way, and they stand, facing each other, ready to draw their first cards.

New cards used in this chapter (which are not in the TCG):

Ultimate Warrior of Landstar

Warrior / Fusion / Effect / EARTH

2900 / 2300 / 7

"_Raging Swordsman of Landstar" + "Impregnable Brigadier of Landstar"_

_The fusion summon of this card can only be conducted with the above fusion material monsters. During each of your own standby phases in which this card is face-up on your side of the field, decrease the level of this card by 2 stars. When the level of this card is equal to 1 star, then the original ATK and DEF values of this card are doubled. If this card has been destroyed by a card effect, and it is special summoned from the graveyard, then this monster's level becomes the number of stars that this card had when it was sent to the graveyard._

Landstar Forces

Normal Spell / SPELL

_Special Summon any number of normal monsters from your hand with the word "Landstar" in its card name._

Landstar Unison

Quickplay Spell / SPELL

_Tribute a face-up "Swordsman of Landstar," "Brigadier of Landstar," "Grappler of Landstar" and "Knight of Landstar" on your side of the field and special summon one "Ultimate Warrior of Landstar" from your fusion deck._

Double Summoning

Normal Spell / SPELL

_Discard one card from your hand to the graveyard, in order to be able to normal summon 2 monsters during the turn this card is activated._


	3. Chapter 3: Arrival of the Ritual Gods

Isaaru, Episode 3 Arrival of the Ritual Gods 

Isaaru, as we all know, is a young, teenage duellist. He has just defeated his older sister Tori, and the national champion, in the build up to his eventual winning of a local tournament. As he leaves the tournament hall, he and Tori are discussing his prizes for winning the tournament. He received a pack of rare cards put together by the tournament organisers, and one promotional card of his choice. He selected a second copy of his new monster, the Ultimate Warrior of Landstar, since his only copy of it was given to him by Dominic Donovan, the national champion and his rival. He walks out of the hall, and is discussing some of the rare cards he won with Tori.

"I tell you what sis," said Isaaru. "Some of these cards are pretty cool, and some of them are just plain pretty. I know, since you helped me out a lot, I'll let you have this card. I think it suits your deck very well." He sorts through the cards and picks out a powerful 2800 attack strength fairy monster, known as Guardian Angel Joan. "I hope it can help you as much as you've helped me."

"In fact, I've never tried this card," replied Tori. "It might work very well. It gives me a major life gain bonus when she destroys something in battle. I'll probably end up using it. Hey, what's that?" She looks at one of the cards Isaaru is holding, and sees it as a Dark Magician Girl card.

"Oh… Err…It's a Dark Magician Girl?" questioned Isaaru. "Why do you ask?"

"That's one of my very favourite cards. Can't I have it?"

"Sorry sis, but I'm keeping this card. I've got a special plan for this card." He slips it into a plastic case to protect it, and puts it into the top pocket of his shirt. "I plan on using this in a new deck. If I enter a tournament, I'd like to have the opportunity to play a secondary deck, in case something happens to my current one."

"Well…" sighed Tori. "Alright then. I suppose you deserve it more than I do."

All of a sudden, a large man walked up to the two of them and asked them to stop. He was very tall, and quite broad in his appearance. He was wearing a long black trench coat and a black hat to conceal his face. His voice boomed out and was very deep.

"Is your name Isaaru Watanabe?" said the large figure.

"Yeah. Who wants t know?" questioned Isaaru.

"My name is Sissero," replied the figure. "I come from the office of the current world champion of the game of Duel Monsters. He has told me that I am to seek out Isaaru Watanabe, and see if he is worthy of joining his new world tournament."

"New tournament?"

"Yes. He has invited the very greatest duellist from all around the world to visit his estate in Japan. I am told you have a very unique duelling technique, and that he wishes to add you to his tournament line-up. However, due to a lack of any world rankings in the game, I am told to duel you, to see if you are worthy of joining the tournament. If you beat me, then I will allow you access to the tournament."

"Well, I don't know," replied Isaaru. "Why should I come along to this tournament?"

"The winner will duel the world champion for his title. Along the way, you will duel such legendary duellists as Bastion Misawa, Joey Wheeler, Mai Valentine, and if you're lucky, maybe even Jaden Yuki or Seto Kaiba."

"Is this serious?"

"As serious as it can get. Do you accept my challenge to a duel?"

"Isaaru…" sighed Tori. "Be careful."

"And who might you be?" asked Sissero.

"I am Tori Watanabe, 2nd ranked duellist in this country."

"Apparently, you have been deemed worthy of this tournament as well. If your brother here can defeat me, then both of you will go to the tournament. That is more than fair."

"Alright then, I accept your challenge," said Isaaru. "Where shall we duel? Shall we go back inside to use the tables?"

"No need, I have what we need, right here…" said Sissero, who reaches inside the pocket of his trench coat, and pulled out a machine with card-shaped slots along it. "This is a duel disk. You strap it onto your wrist, and play the game using it. You will duel using this, and it will project holograms of the monsters you summon."

"Cool! Just like Yugi Mutou."

"Erm, ok then. If you say so," sighed Sissero. He pulls his left arm out of his trench coat, to reveal his own duel disk, with a deck loaded into it. "Let's duel Isaaru."

"Yes, let's. Duel!" declares Isaaru, as he draws five cards from his deck, along with Sissero.

Isaaru – 8000, Sissero - 8000

"I'll take the first move," said Sissero in his dark, deep voice, as he draws a sixth card, "and I'll activate the spell card, Pot of Greed, to draw two more cards." A large green pot appeared on the field in front of him, with a freaky laughing face on the front of it. "Next, I'll activate the spell card, Final Countdown!" Yet again, a hologram of the card's picture appeared. In this case, twenty large fire balls appeared in the sky above them, and the weather suddenly turned dark and cloudy. "Let me explain how it works, I pay 2000 life points (Sissero 8000 – 2000 6000), and in twenty turns, I win the duel automatically. This is now a timed duel, and you have to beat me in twenty turns. I'll then set two cards face-down, to end my turn." Sure enough, as Sissero slotted the 2 cards into his duel disk, two bright brown cards appeared just above the floor in front of him, face-down.

Isaaru – 8000, Sissero - 6000

"Wow! This is so cool!" shouted Isaaru. Just as he said this, people began to leave the tournament hall behind them, and saw the duel going on. Just like Isaaru, they had never seen a real, live hologram duel, and so they raced over to the duel scene to get a better view. They stood near the two combatants, underneath the presence of the now 19 orange fire balls hovering in the sky above them. Isaaru draws his next card, and begins his turn, everyone going silent so that he can concentrate.

"Alright then, I'll summon the monster called, Grappler of Landstar (1000/500) in attack mode!" As he places the yellow-coloured card onto his duel disk, a creature materialises on the field in front of him. It looks like an army commando, with a camouflage suit on, and all sorts of belts strapped around him, with many different daggers and explosives tucked into them. He had a baby-like face, like something out of a fairy tale. "Now, Grappler, attack his life points directly!" declared Isaaru, pointing at his opponent. The Grappler of Landstar steps forward, and removes a dagger from his belt, and jumps at Sissero, slashing at his chest so that he takes damage. (Sissero 6000 – 1000 5000) Sissero falls to his knees in pain, but quickly gets back up again.

Isaaru – 8000, Sissero – 5000

"I'll activate a trap card!" said Sissero. "The Pyro Clock of Destiny. This trap card moves forward all turn counts currently active on the field by one turn. Therefore, my Final Countdown now has 18 turns left."

"Very well," sighed Isaaru. "I'll set one face-down on the field and end my turn. I guess that takes Final Countdown's turn count down then?"

"You learn fast," replied Sissero. "My turn now. I'll summon one monster on defence mode, and activate the continuous spell card, Level Limit Area-B." A small gate appeared behind Sissero, with a letter "B" on the front of it. "As long as this stays in play, all level 4 or higher monsters on the field are put into defence mode."

"Yeah, yeah. I know what it does. Just go ahead and end your turn," said Isaaru, impatiently.

"Very well. I'll end my turn," replied Sissero. Up above the duelling field, the fourth fire ball disappeared. Isaaru could see that his time was running out fast.

"I'll have to think of a move soon, if I'm going to stay in this. I draw!" declared Isaaru. He looks at the card he picked up, and saw it was the ritual spell card, Landstar God Ritual. He didn't remember this card being in his deck at all. He then thinks a bit harder, and reminisces about his birthday once. He was about 14 years old, and Tori was only a little older than that (about 16). Isaaru then flashes back to the moment:

Flashback

"Wow, some duel monsters cards!" said a younger version of Isaaru.

"Yeah, I picked out a few that might help you build your own deck," replied the younger Tori. "The shop owner said they're quite new releases."

"What's this?" asked Isaaru, holding up a green-coloured card with a picture of a bubbling cauldron that appeared to be in the middle of some sort of dungeon. "I've never even heard of this card."

"That's a ritual spell card. You can use it to special summon a Landstar ritual monster in a duel. And in fact, I got you the monster too," said Tori, handing over yet another package to Isaaru. He opens it up to reveal a pair of blue-coloured cards.

"Great! This will make my deck that much better for when I can go to tournaments."

End of Flashback

"Okay then Sissero!" said Isaaru, in response to his draw. "I think it's about time I make my advantage a little stronger. I'll set one card face-down, and summon the monster, Knight of Landstar (500/2200) in defence mode. With that, I end my turn." As he placed down his cards, a shining silver Knight appeared in front of him, with the same child-like face on it that Grappler had. Isaaru then looked above and counted the remaining fire balls, seeing there was only 15 left.

"My move," growled Sissero. "I'll sacrifice my face-down Big Shield Gardna (100/2600), and summon the Total Defence Shogun (1550/2500) in attack mode." A tall warrior holding a gleaming sword was summoned in front of Sissero, ready to strike.

"Wait a minute," said Isaaru. "If you played Final Countdown, then aren't you supposed to be playing defence, and stalling my moves?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"You just tributed a 2600 DEF monster to summon one with 2500 DEF, in attack mode! I could knock that down easily."

"Well, I'll explain Total Defence Shogun's special effects to you. Firstly, when I summon him in attack mode, he immediately switches himself into defence position. Secondly, when he is in defence mode, he can still attack you! This means, I get a monster on my field with 2500 points for you to get through, and I won't take life point damage from you attacking it, and in addition, I can use 1550 attack points to attack you safely." As he finished saying this, the Total Defence Shogun monster on his field began to crouch down on the field, holding his large sword in front of him as a defence. "Now, Total Defence Shogun! Attack the Grappler of Landstar!" commanded Sissero, as the Total Defence Shogun leapt at the Grappler of Landstar, destroying it and sending it to Isaaru's graveyard (Isaaru 8000 – 1550 + 1000 7450). "I'll set one card face-down and end my turn. Now, you have 14 turns to win this."

Isaaru – 7450, Sissero - 5000

"Good, it's time I finished this anyway. This is going on for far too long. My move!" declared Isaaru, as he drew a card. He looked at it, and saw it was Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands. "That's just what I needed. I summon the monster, Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands (1400/1000) in attack mode!" An ugly monster, looking very old, protruded from the holographic card that appeared in front of Isaaru. It had many thousands of hands coming out of its torso. "When I summon this card, I get to look through my deck for any ritual monster or ritual spell card, and add that card to my hand! So, I'll search my deck for this card…" he picks out his deck, and finds a blue-coloured monster, the same one seen in his flashback. "Then, I'll activate the ritual spell card, Landstar God Ritual! This card allows me to ritual summon the monster I just drew, but it is a level 10 monster, so I'll have to tribute monsters that I have that have a total level equal to 10. So, I'll tribute my Manju (4), my Knight of Landstar (3), and my Swordsman of Landstar in my hand (3), to summon this! The Sun God of Landstar (2000/1900)!"

As Isaaru placed the ritual into the slot on his duel disk, the same cauldron from the picture appeared on his field, and absorbed his three monsters. Then, the mixture inside the cauldron bubbled, and shot into the air. Clouds formed over the duel, and a swirling tower of flames shot from the sky down to the ground. They then morphed into an enormous dragon, which appeared to be made of fire.

"Sun God?" exclaimed Sissero, looking very puzzled.

"Yeah, this is one of the two Landstar gods who is worshiped by all those in the Landstar kingdom," explained Isaaru. "And, it has a very unique special ability. When I ritual summon it to the field, like I just did, I can pay 1500 life points (Isaaru 7450 – 1500 5950) to destroy everything you have on the field."

Isaaru - 5950, Sissero - 5000

"Very well, before my cards are destroyed, I'll activate a second Pyro Clock of Destiny! So now, you have 13 turns left." Every other card that Sissero has out is burnt away by the flame breath of the Sun God, including his Total Defence Shogun.

"It doesn't matter. I can still attack you. Sun God of Landstar! Attack his life points with raging inferno! (Sissero 5000 – 2000 3000)." The Sun God unleashed a mighty flame breath on Sissero, causing him to be knocked back onto the floor. He gets up, looking a little weaker.

Isaaru – 5950, Sissero - 3000

"Alright then Isaaru," groaned Sissero. "I think it's about time I sped things up, don't you? I've been keeping these two cards in my hand for a reason." He is pointing at two cards at the side of his hand which he hasn't played yet. "They are both copies of the same card. But for now, I draw!" He draws his next card, and grins. "I activate the spell card, Quantum Leap!" A spell card appears in front of him, displaying some sort of vortex, and some cards being dragged into it, such as Swords of Revealing Light and Final Countdown. "This card is like activating three Pyro Clocks at the same time. It moves the current turn count forward by three turns!"

"That's impossible!" shouted Isaaru.

"You'd think so wouldn't you," laughed Sissero. "But you see; only one would be hard to contend with, but I have three!" He slots two more spells into his duel disk, and they appear in front of him, as the exact same card, Quantum Leap. "And now, you have 9 less turns to win this, and since you ended your turn recently, the current turn count, is 12! So my Quantum Leaps will bring this turn count down to 3 turns. Now, all we need is for me to end my turn after this, and you're finished."

Isaaru ponders this thought for while, and realises it's true, as there are only 3 more fire balls floating in the sky. "Oh no! That means I only have one turn in which to win this." He looks at his hand and sees two cards, Grappler of Landstar, Offerings to the Doomed and Monster Reincarnation. He realises that if he attacks with Grappler and his Sun God, he'll win the duel. "Well, I can easily do that in my next turn."

"That's the point, and I have no doubts that you can beat me next turn, so I'm prepared. I summon Jowgen the Spiritualist (200/1300) in attack mode! With Jowgen in play, I can discard the last card in my hand to destroy all special summoned monsters on the field, so your Sun God is destroyed!"

"But, that means I can't win," cried Isaaru, as he watches his Sun God be destroyed by Jowgen the Spiritualist's spell charm attack.

"And now, that's game Isaaru," smiled Sissero. "I'll end my turn."

Isaaru looked mesmerised by Sissero's duelling strategy. He looked as if he had lost the will to live.

"Come on Isaaru, you can still win this!" shouted Tori. Isaaru completely perked up. He had forgotten Tori was there. "I know you still have a card in your deck that can win you this duel. I know you can do this."

"Yeah, there is something I can do," realised Isaaru. "Alright then Sissero, it's time for you to lose. I draw!" He looks at his final card, seeing another blue-coloured monster card. He grins, knowing that he can win this duel. "Alright then. Are you aware of my Sun God's special effect?"

"It does more than just destroy my field?" questioned Sissero.

"Of course it does. It's a god. When you destroy it with a card effect, I can put Landstar God Ritual back into my hand, and re-use it. Now then, with that back, I'll activate Monster Reincarnation! By using this spell, I can discard my Grappler of Landstar in my hand to add Sun God back to my hand."

"Well then, that's a good try," laughed Sissero. "Even if you can summon Sun God, my Jowgen negates all special summonings."

"And I already know that. That's why I'm going to play Offerings to the Doomed. This card will destroy your Jowgen."

"Oh well. I still have 3000 life points," said Sissero. "You can't beat me with Sun God, and that must be your plan."

"It isn't," said Isaaru.

"WHAT?" shouted Sissero.

"I activate the Ritual spell card, Landstar God Ritual. This allows me to sacrifice my Sun god of Landstar to summon the other God of Landstar. I summon the Warrior God of Landstar! (3000/2800)" An enormous warrior was this time summoned by the God ritual. It has dressed in black so you couldn't see its face, and it had a large broad sword on its back. It stood up straight with its arms folded, and shouted his battle cry.

"But, he has 3000 attack points!" exclaimed Sissero.

"It took you that long to figure that out?" questioned Isaaru. "I'm not going to drag this out any longer for you. Warrior God! Attack Sissero's life points directly with that nice big sword of yours. Rage of Landstar!" The warrior leapt several feet into the air, and came down upon Sissero with his sword raised, and knocked Isaaru's opponent down to the ground, depleting the remainder of his life points. (Sissero 3000 – 3000 0) Having been knocked down by the force of Isaaru's attack, Sissero stood up, and all the holograms that were still on the field disappeared. Sissero began to smile, and applauded Isaaru.

"Well done. Well done indeed Isaaru. I thought you had it in you to win that."

"Thanks. I doubted myself a little, but I pulled through," laughed Isaaru.

"It is now with great pleasure that I grant you and your sister access to the most exclusive and prestigious Duel Monsters tournament in history. My master, the World Champion of Duel Monsters requested to meet you personally should you win. If you'd like to follow me. Both of you."

Sissero led the two of them to a helicopter he had behind him. They stepped inside, and prepared to take off. Nearby, the crowd who was watching Isaaru's duel were applauding his victory. Amongst them was Dominic Donovan. He ran up to the helicopter, and sneaked on board. It was a large helicopter, so Sissero and Isaaru didn't see him get on. The helicopter took off, and began to fly them to a remote island. It is this island that was the former site of Seto Kaiba's duel academy, until it was relocated some years ago. Now, the previous academy still stands, but is a shadow of its former self.

"We are flying to the old Duel Academy," explained Sissero. "It is here where you will live and stay during this tournament. My master will explain all the tournament rules when we reach the island." As they began to approach the island, Sissero beckoned to the two of them to look out of the window. They looked, and saw a large island in front of them, with a glistening white building in the middle of it. "The duel academy has been abandoned for nearly 10 years now. The current world champion says he used to be one of the school's students, and wanted his tournament to be based here, and nowhere else."

"Wow. It's amazing," said Isaaru. "I always wanted to see Duel Academy, and now I get to duel there." Isaaru was holding on to the duel disk he was given by Sissero, wondering what faced him next.

END

Next time (Chapter 4: Start of the Tournament, and meet the contestants)

Isaaru touches down on the island. Sissero leads him and Tori to the principal's office, where they meet the world champion of Duel Monsters (for secrecy purposes, I will not reveal who this is until I have written chapter 4). The champion explains why he has chosen for Isaaru to compete in this tournament, and begins saying his deck is unorthodox, and can't stand a chance in the tournament. He says that Isaaru is only the tournament for a laugh, and will be started off against the weaker duellists competing. Isaaru, being the arrogant kid that he and other teenagers tend to be, challenges the world champion to a duel. His challenge is grudgingly accepted, and their battle gets underway. Meanwhile, Dominic Donovan climbs off of the helicopter and finds his way into the World Champion's office, and sees the conclusion of the duel, just as the unthinkable happens…

New cards used in this chapter (which are not in the TCG):

Sun God of Landstar

Dragon / Ritual / Effect / LIGHT

2000 / 1900 / 10

_This card can only be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Spell Card, "Landstar God Ritual." When this monster is ritual summoned to the field, pay 1500 life points to destroy all cards on your opponent's side of the field. In addition, when this card is sent from the field to the graveyard by any card effect, return one "Landstar God Ritual" from your graveyard to your hand._

Warrior God of Landstar

Warrior / Ritual / Effect / DARK

3000 / 2800 / 10

_This card can only be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Spell Card, "Landstar God Ritual." During each of your own standby phases in which this card is face-up on your side of the field, decrease the level of this card by 3 stars. When the level of this card is equal to 1 star, you can special summon one monster from your hand of your side of the field. You can only activate this effect once per turn._

Landstar God Ritual

Ritual Spell / SPELL

_This card can be used to Ritual Summon "Sun God of Landstar" or "Warrior God of Landstar." You must also Tribute monsters from the field or your hand whose total levels equal 10 stars._

Quantum Leap

Normal Spell / SPELL

_Move the turn count forward by 3 turns. The turn in which this card is activated continuous as normal._


	4. Chapter 4: The Master of Dragons

Isaaru, Episode 4 The Master of Dragons 

Isaaru, Tori and Sissero touch down on the island. Isaaru still has his deck loaded into the metal duel disk on his forearm. When they land on the landing pad, the three of them step out of the helicopter, where they are met by a young man dressed in a grey suit, with matted brown hair. Sissero walks over to him, and hands over his duel disk with the Final Countdown deck in it. He then turns back to Isaaru and Tori, and introduces the young man.

"Isaaru. Tori. This is Mister Edo Phoenix," explained Sissero. "He will be competing in this little tournament of ours. Not only that, but he is a personal friend of the World Champion himself, and has helped to organise this whole event. He is the one who has been monitoring your progress for the past few weeks, and the one who invited you here. I will leave you now, but Mister Phoenix will take it from here, and explain to you the rules of the competition."

"Ok then," replied Isaaru. "Goodbye Sissero, and thanks for a great match." Isaaru smiled and showed his appreciation by waving his goodbye to Sissero. Tori followed suit and waved casually to Sissero, as he walked away. Edo stepped forward and introduced himself a bit more formally.

"Welcome to Duel Academy," said Edo. "Allow me to welcome you to the island, on behalf of my good friend Andrew Roswell."

"Who's Andrew Roswell?" asked Tori, bemused to the fact that she can't picture the name in her head.

"Andrew is the World Champion of Duel Monsters, didn't you know?" replied Edo. "He cleared out the World finals, defeating the one and only Seto Kaiba using a deck full of monsters that had less than 1000 attack points. Anyway, I told him you were on your way, and he personally wishes to talk to you, and take a look at your deck."

"Seriously?" replied Isaaru. "He asked for me, personally?"

"Well, technically, no he didn't," said Edo, sighing. "He looks at everyone's decks before they enter the tournament. He had to help me re-build my own deck before he let me into the tournament. Anyway, he asked me to lead you to his office so he can meet you personally."

"Oh. Fine, very well," said Isaaru.

"What about me?" asked Tori.

"Oh right," remembered Edo. He clicked his fingers and a woman dressed in a similar grey suit, except with a short grey skirt in place of grey trousers, appeared before the two of them, and led Tori off towards another part of the island. "Don't worry," said Edo, to Isaaru, who looked a bit puzzled. "Her deck is being assessed by a different official. She will meet up with you again at your living quarters once her skill level has been assessed." Tori waved goodbye to Isaaru as she walked off with the other woman.

"Ok then," said Isaaru, mockingly. "Where's this "World Champion" who I'm supposed to be meeting with."

"Well, I'll take you to him right now," said Edo. He began to walk off towards the main academy building, and Isaaru followed him with excitement in his eyes. They entered the building, and are greeted by several builders working hard to restore the interior of the school. They start walking through the many long corridors of the academy, seeing several pictures of historical figures that had been taught at the school previously. They passed paintings of people such as Jaden Yuki, Zane and Syrus Trusdale, even the school's founder, Seto Kaiba. Eventually, they came across a large door. Edo stood outside it, and pushed it open, beckoning Isaaru inside the room. Isaaru entered, to see a man sitting behind a glass desk, covered with the images o powerful Duel Monsters, such as the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon, the Elemental Hero cards, Cyber End Dragon and even the Egyptian God cards. The man looked up from his paper, and stood up. He was wearing a long black trench coat, with a white shirt underneath it. He had his jewel-encrusted duel disk strapped to his arm. He walked over to Isaaru, towering above him, and extended his hand.

"Welcome, Isaaru Watanabe," he said. "My name is Andrew Roswell. I am the tournament organiser around here, and I'm sure you will have heard of me by now."

"Of course," replied Isaaru.

"Anyway, you're here to compete in my tournament, aren't you?" said Andrew. "Therefore, you need to verify your deck with me before you enter. Let me see our cards."

"Ok then," said Isaaru. He took his deck out of its slot on his duel disk, and handed it over to Andrew. Andrew began looking through the deck, and his facial expression went from a smile, to a frown, and then to a look of disgust.

"These are the cards you duel with?" asked Andrew.

"Erm… Yeah," said Isaaru. "Is there some sort of problem?"

"Well, obviously!" replied Andrew. "These cards suck!"

"Excuse me?" asked Isaaru.

"I can see your deck is going for a low-level kind of theme, but why use such weak cards over some strong level 3 cards?" he asked. "I mean, we have cards like Mataza the Zapper, Kinetic Soldier, and they all work incredibly well, yet you instead use…" he picks out the Swordsman of Landstar from his deck, and shows it to Isaaru. "You use this!"

"Hey. I win with these cards!" shouted Isaaru. "Obviously, they must be some good to me if I can win with them."

"Well, I'd say that I disagree, but you could always show me this theory of yours."

"What do you mean?"

"A duel. Me and you. A way of starting off the tournament with a bang. This could be a way of you showing me how good that deck of yours really is."

"Well…well…" stuttered Isaaru.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of a match against the World Champion now. Oh wait, your deck wouldn't keep you in for five minutes. I'd be scared in your position." Isaaru began to get angry at this statement.

"Fine. If you're so confident. I'll duel you, and win too!" shouted Isaaru. "We'll see if my deck really is as bad as you say so."

"Good." Andrew walked over to a microphone on his desk, and began to speak into it. "All tournament participants please report to the main duelling arena. It's time to begin this tournament properly." Andrew smile and, walked over to Edo, and whispered, "set up the duel arena."

Meanwhile, at the landing pad, Dominic Donovan crawled out of the landed helicopter. There was no one around, so he stepped off the pad, and ran up to the academy doors. He stepped through the main doors, and saw another opening with a bright light coming from inside it, shining out to him. He walked up to it, and saw Isaaru and Andrew standing opposite each other on a duelling field, both with activated duel disks on their arms, about to begin their duel. Edo Phoenix stepped up to the middle of the ring, and began to talk into a microphone in his hand.

"Welcome, to the first duel of this World Tournament," shouted Edo. "The following match will be a warm-up match to get you all in the duelling spirit, between Isaaru Watanabe and the World Champion, Mister Andrew Roswell!" Suddenly, the entire crowd began to cheer and applaud. "This match will now get underway. Both players will start with 8000 life points. Players, shuffle your decks, and duel!" Edo jumped down from the stage, as both Andrew and Isaaru drew five cards from their shuffled decks, and began to duel.

Isaaru – 8000, Andrew – 8000.

"I'll begin this match then," said Andrew, drawing a sixth card from his deck. "I set one face-down card on the field, and summon Breaker the Magical Warrior (1600/1000) in attack mode!" A mighty Spellcaster materialised on the field, dressed in a bright red suit of armour, holding a short blue sword and a red ruby-encrusted shield. "When I summon Breaker, he is given one spell counter. This spell counter gives him an extra 300 attack points (1900/1000). With that, I'll end my turn."

"Good. My move!" exclaimed Isaaru, drawing a card. "I activate the spell card, Landstar Forces! This allows me to special summon any normal Landstar monsters from my hand to the field, and I have three in my hand. Swordsman (500/1200), Brigadier (900/1200) and Knight of Landstar (500/2200), all in defence mode." Isaaru's three warriors appeared on the field, appearing to defend themselves. "And now, I'll set two face-down cards to end my turn."

"Well, time to begin winning this duel," smirked Andrew, drawing a card, and adding it to his hand. "I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw 2 more cards from my deck." A large green pot appeared on the field, with a large grimacing smile on it, and two cards came out of it, and shot into Andrew's hand. "Now, I activate Heavy Storm!" shouted Andrew, showing Isaaru a spell card with a twister on it. "This will rid me of those two face-down cards, and my own face-down, but I'm willing to make that sacrifice. Now, I'll activate another spell card. Polymerization!" As he placed the second spell card onto his duel disk, a vortex appeared on the field, and sucked up two of the cards in Andrew's hand. "I fuse Buster Blader and King of the Swamp to form, Dark Paladin (2900/2400)." Another powerful monster appeared on the field, beside Breaker, dressed in dark green armour, holding a long staff with a large blade on the end of it.

"Wait a minute," questioned Isaaru. "Dark Paladin is a fusion of Dark Magician and Buster Blader. How can you summon it without Dark Magician?"

"Well, I used King of the Swamp," laughed Andrew. "He acts as a fusion substitute in any fusion summoning. In other words, by using him as one of the fusion materials, I don't need to use Dark Magician to summon my Paladin. And now, my new fusion monster can destroy every one of your monsters, and practically eliminate you from this duel. I play the spell card Diffusion Wave Motion! By paying 1000 life points (Andrew 8000 – 1000 7000), my Dark Paladin can destroy everything on your field. Now then, Paladin! Attack his three monsters, and show him why I'm the champion around here." Dark Paladin held up his staff, and emitted a large wave of bright light from it, slicing through each of Isaaru's monsters, eventually destroying them all. "You're lucky they were all in defence mode, or this would have been a very short duel. And now, Breaker, attack him directly." Breaker launched himself at Isaaru, and swung at him with his blue crystal sword (Isaaru 8000 – 1900 6100). Isaaru clutched his stomach, where Breaker had hit him. "And now, I'll summon one monster in defence mode. Now, go."

Isaaru – 6100, Andrew – 7000

"Good. Time for me to come back into this match," said Isaaru.

"And how on earth do you expect to do anything like that?" questioned Andrew. "You have nothing out on the field, nothing in your hand, and a weak deck. You can't win."

"Well, I'll draw my card, and go down fighting," said Isaaru. "I summon Grappler of Landstar (1000/500) in attack mode. My monster can now attack your face-down monster." Isaaru's monster lunged at the brown rectangle on the floor, as it flipped over to reveal a clay pot containing an ugly, black creature, which appeared to be laughing at Isaaru.

"You fool," remarked Andrew. "You see, my deck uses up my cards very quickly, so I need to replenish my hand as quickly as I can. Therefore, I have Morphing Jar. This can let me draw 5 new cards when he's flipped over, and you too." Both players drew five cards, and Isaaru continued with his turn.

"Ok then, I'll play Polymerization, just like you!" exclaimed Isaaru. "With this, I'll fuse Grappler on my field with Swordsman of Landstar in my hand, to make Raging Swordsman of Landstar (2200/1500) in attack mode. My new fusion monster can now attack Breaker the Magical Warrior!" The powerful swordsman that Isaaru had summoned, lunged at Breaker, and sliced him clean in half. (Andrew 7000 – 2200 + 1900 6700) "I'll now activate Swords of Revealing Light, to stop you attacking me for a few turns…"

Isaaru – 6100, Andrew - 6700

"I don't think so Isaaru," replied Andrew. "I'm activating the special effect of my Dark Paladin. By discarding one card in my hand…" Andrew selects "Des Kangaroo" in his hand and sends it to the grave. "…I can negate your spell, and destroy it. Now then, I believe you were going to end your turn there?" Isaaru nodded, scornfully. "Very well, I draw my card, and once again, activate Polymerization! This time, I'll fuse Red-Eyes B. Dragon, and another King of the Swamps together, to summon the Meteor B. Dragon (3500/2000) in attack mode" This time, the vortex that appeared on the field enveloped two more cards, but instead of a smart-looking Spellcaster, a large red Dragon covered in magma and fire came down to the field. "This time, you can't escape my wrath. I will attack your monster with Dark Paladin (3900/2400), who now has an extra 1000 attack points from two dragons being on my field and in my graveyard. Go, and attack with magical blade strike." Dark Paladin once again, raised his staff to the sky, and sliced Raging Swordsman of Landstar in half using the bright ray of light that emitted from it (Isaaru 6100 – 3900 + 2200 4400). "And now, I will use Meteor B. Dragon to attack again! Flaming Meteor Strike!" Meteor B. Dragon flew at Isaaru, ready to take his life points dangerously low.

Isaaru – 4400, Andrew – 6700

"Not so fast Andrew!" shouted Isaaru. "I discard Kuriboh from my hand, to negate the attack of Meteor B. Dragon." Andrew takes a card in his hand, and sends it to the grave. A wall of furry Kuribohs appeared in front of Isaaru, and they bounce the Dragon's attack away to a safe distance."

"Good play, at such a dire moment," said Andrew. "But I'm afraid that was just luck. I'll end my turn for now, and next turn, I'll finish this."

"Well then," laughed Isaaru. "Not even the World Champion is capable of such a comeback. It's time to start winning this game." Isaaru draws his card, and laughed. "I play the spell card, re-fusion! This allows me to pay 800 life points to summon Raging Swordsman back to the field. Next, I'll go ahead and summon my Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands. His effect lets me add Landstar God Ritual to my hand. But, it won't stay in my hand for very much longer, because I'm activating it!" A large bubbling cauldron appeared on the field, about to summon a powerful creature. "When I play this, I can sacrifice Manju, Raging Swordsman, and my Sinister Serpent to summon one of my most devastating cards. I summon Sun God of Landstar (2000/1900)!" The cauldron bubbled, and up from it, rose a large fiery dragon that rivalled Andrew's Meteor Dragon in size. "My god has a very special effect. By paying 1500 life points, I can wipe out everything you have on the field (Isaaru 4400 – 1500 2900)." Sure enough, the large, sacred dragon used his volcanic breath to destroy both of Andrew's monsters, leaving him wide open.

Isaaru – 2900, Andrew – 6700

Andrew laughed at this move. "Well, that's impressive, but once again you have nothing in your hand, and so you can't win in this one turn, can you?"

"I may not be able to win this turn, but I can sure make a start," remarked Isaaru. "I attack you directly with my Sun God. Sacred Flame Blaze!" The dragon launched his fiery breath once again, this time, striking at Andrew's life points (Andrew 6700 – 2000 4700). "And that ends my turn."

Isaaru – 2900, Andrew - 4700

"Your final turn, that is," said Andrew. "I bet you I can win in this turn, because you've left yourself too vulnerable."

"Don't be stupid," said Isaaru. "To win this, you would need to summon a monster with, about 5000 attack points. You can't possibly do that." Isaaru just laughed at this thought.

"And that is exactly what I can do," replied Andrew. At this, Isaaru's smile dropped into a frown. "I draw my card, and I play another Polymerization card!" A third vortex appeared on the field, and absorbed both of the cards Andrew had in his hand. "This one can let me fuse Black Luster Soldier and another fusion substitute monster, to summon the most powerful monster in the entire game. The Master of Dragon Soldier (5000/5000)!" A large 3-headed, white Dragon materialised out of the vortex, with the Black Luster Soldier standing on top of it. "This is your end around here."

"But… how can you… summon that…?" stuttered Isaaru.

"Simple, I have the cards in my deck, and I just summoned it. Master of Dragons! Attack the false god, with Dragon Sabre Blast! Finish this." The dragon's three mouths opened to reveal three orbs of lightning, which all fired at the Sun God. The Soldier on top of it also released a beam of energy from his sword, destroying the Sun God, and ending the duel (Isaaru 2900 – 5000 + 2000 -100 0).

Isaaru – 0, Andrew – 4700

Isaaru collapsed to the ground, amazed that he lost to such an amazing creature. The crowd who had been watching the duel began cheering Andrew's victory, as the Master of Dragon Soldier disappeared. Andrew then walked over to Isaaru.

"You may have lost Isaaru, but I can give you a second chance in the tournament," said Andrew. "I'll allow you to compete. Go to your room. Your sister should be there soon, once she has won her entry duel. However, you'll have a different roommate if she happens to lose. We'll just have to see, won't we?"

"We will. Thank you Andrew," said Isaaru, restlessly. Isaaru got up, and Edo escorted him to his living quarters, after announcing the results of the duel. Isaaru walked into his new room, and collapsed on the bed, exhausted from his match, awaiting the arrival of his sister, or whoever his new roommate will be.

END

Next time (Chapter 5: The qualifying round):

Tori is led to a duelling arena at one corner of the academy. She arrives just in time to see the end of a duel, in which Bastion Misawa wins a duel using the powers of the "Divine Protector – Exordo" She is then greeted my Alexis Rhodes, who explains that she is helping to organise the tournament, for the girls. She tells Tori that she has to win a short qualifier duel before she can be admitted into the tournament. She is then introduced to another duellist, who appears to be obsessed with gadgets and machines. When they duel, Tori finds herself facing a powerful machine deck, containing the legendary Gadget monsters. Tori is almost defeated, and is just about to lose, when she realises that there is one card in her deck that might just be able to save her life points.


	5. Chapter 5: The qualifying round 12

Isaaru, Episode 5 The qualifying round! Machines vs. Fairies! (Part One) 

Tori was led away from Isaaru and the landing pad by a woman dressed in a light grey suit, with round glasses, a clipboard in her hand, and an attractive look about her. Tori was led around to the back of the island, and they walked for close to fifteen minutes before reaching a large building, similar to a gymnasium, or an auditorium. Tori was then shown her way inside, to a small desk, with another attractive woman sitting at it. The woman had a list of names and numbers in front of her, and she was skimming through them with her pen.

"Hey, Eileen," said the first woman, in the suit. "Here's another one for ya'." Tori was quite startled by this voice. The attractive woman seemed to have a very rough voice, and she seemed to be very fed up, or even angry with her job. The woman behind the desk was completely different however. She looked up from her statistics, and smiled at Tori.

"Hello dear," said Eileen, cheerfully. "And what is your name then?"

"Erm… Tori Watanabe," replied Tori. Having given her name, the secretary skimmed down her page until she found Tori's name on her list.

"Ah yes," said Eileen, finally. "You're the last one to arrive. Miss Rhodes is expecting you."

"Miss Rhodes?" questioned Tori. She slightly recognised the name, but couldn't put a face to it.

"Yes. Miss Alexis Rhodes. She's a pretty famous duellist around these parts. She and Mister Edo Phoenix are helping to organise this event. I'll just buzz her in, and she'll explain to you how the tournament layout is going to work." Eileen pushed a buzzer under her desk, and in two minutes, a tall, pretty girl came through a door behind Eileen's desk. She had long, straight brown hair, a pair of small, round glasses on her face, and she was wearing a similar grey suit and matching mini-skirt as the woman who led Tori into the office.

"So then, you must be Miss Watanabe then?" asked the girl. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Alexis Rhodes. I am helping Andrew Roswell, the World Champion, to organise this event. Myself, and his other PM are organising all tournament entries. I shall be allocating you to a qualifying match before you can be allowed into the tournament itself."

"Oh right," replied Tori. "May I ask, what is happening to my little brother, Isaaru?"

"Oh, your brother has just been in a duel with Andrew, our World Champion."

"Typical," said Tori. "Isaaru is always trying to prove how good he is. I guess he lost?"

"Yeah," said Alexis. "Anyway, I'm sorry to rush, but you are our last entrant, and we have an opponent lined up for you. The tournament starts officially in a few hours, and we need to get you, or your opponent enrolled in the tournament. Follow me please." Alexis walked back through the door, and Tori followed her, smiling at Eileen on her way out of the room. She was then led by Alexis through a series of short corridors, before they appeared at the top of a large arena, with two people duelling at the bottom of the room.

"And now, I play the spell card, Shield and Sword," declared the one man in the duel, who was dressed in a yellow suit. "With this card, by Labyrinth Wall (0/3000) and my Divine Protector – Exordo (0/4000) have their attack and defence values reversed, giving both of them more attack points than anything you can have face-down. And now, my Labyrinth will attack your face-down monster!" Suddenly, in the holograms that were depicting the duel below, the large rocky Labyrinth, now with 3000 attack points, disappeared from its location, and then re-appeared underneath a brown, horizontal rectangle on the ground, skewering a monster that rose out of it. "And now, my Exordo will attack your life points directly." Again, a large golden idol fired a series of bright lights at the person on the other end of the arena, causing him to fall to his knees.

"And, the winner of this duel…" began an announcer dressed in black, who had stepped into the middle of the field. "…is the one and only, Bastion Misawa! He will go on into the final tournament to play for the chance to duel the one and only Andrew Roswell for the prize of winning a job in his company."

"So that's why we're all here?" asked Tori.

"Oh yes," answered Alexis. "That's why you're all here. I'm here, along with Edo Phoenix, as Andrew's exterminators. We already have a job at the company, so we won't win a single thing if we win. We're in this to stop others winning the prize, and to have a bit of fun too."

"Ok then. At least I now know what I'm doing here. Anyway, who's my opponent going to be then?" asked Tori.

"That would be me," answered a squeaky voice. Another girl came running up to Tori and Alexis. She was holding 4 red books in her hands, and had a duel disk strapped to her arm. She was wearing large round glasses, and a baggy silver jumpsuit. She came up to the two of them, and held her hand out to Tori. "My name is Kala Misawa. I am that guy's little sister," she said, as she pointed down at Bastion, who saw her, and waved back at her, smiling. "I guess I'm the one who will ensure you don't get into this tournament."

"I wouldn't bet on it," said Tori, who was now smiling widely. She grabbed Kala's hand and shook it. "My name is Tori, and I never lose a duel."

"I heard you've lost several," replied Kala. "Like, that duel you recently had against your brother. And a duel in which you gave away the National Championships to a boy. I believe his name was Dominic?" Tori blushed brightly when she heard the name.

"Yes, I did, but those two duels are the only ones I have ever lost," said Tori, who had more or less lost her smile by now. "I think we'd better get on with this duel of ours, and see which one of is right."

"Yes, well put Tori," interrupted Alexis. "We need to find out which of you two girls will be competing in the Tournament. I'm sure both of your brothers will be anxious to find out who enters the tournament." With that, they were both led down to the duelling field, and Tori was given her duel disk. While she was being shown how to use it, Bastion approached his little sister.

"Kala," whispered Bastion. "I don't want you to lose this match. Here, I prepared a deck for you. Now go and win your duel, and we shall compete in this tournament together." He handed over a deck to his sister, who beamed as she looked through the cards. She hugged her brother, and stood up straight, looking directly at Tori.

"Don't worry, Big Brother," said Kala. "I won't disappoint you." She loaded her new deck into the slot on the duel disk, and drew five cards. Tori then pulled a deck out of the deck box clipped to her belt, and loaded it into her disk, drawing five cards also.

"Let's duel," said the two girls, simultaneously.

Tori – 8000, Kala – 8000.

"I'll go first," said Kala, drawing a card from her deck. "I summon my Machine King Prototype (1600/1500) in attack mode!" She set a card onto her duel disk, and suddenly, a hologram of a machine monster appeared. This machine monster was mostly made of white and red armour, and was sitting on a throne, like a king. "I'll then activate Double Summoning! With this spell card, I can discard one card in my hand (sends "Mighty Guard" to the graveyard), and I can have an extra normal summon this turn. With my second summon, I can summon my Red Gadget (1300/1500), in attack mode!" A red machine monster appeared on the field next to the Machine King. It had a large gear on its back and had only one eye, staring at Tori. "Also, since I now have another Machine monster out, my Prototype Machine King gains 100 extra attack points (1700/1500). And, I'm not done. By summoning Red Gadget to the field, I can draw another Gadget monster from my deck. Yellow Gadget!"

"Wow, what a turn," said Tori.

"Yes, well I'm almost done. I'll set one card face-down, and that'll end my turn," replied Kala.

"Finally," remarked Tori. "My move! I summon my Dunames Dark Witch (1800/1050) in attack mode!" A fairy creature dressed in a bright white dress appeared on the field, with long white gloves. "Now then, Dark Witch, attack her Prototype Machine King, with celestial shower!" The Dark Witch monster raised her arms into the air, and threw them down at the Machine King, so a shower of light burst from them, tearing the King into pieces (Kala 8000 – 1800 + 1700 7900). "And now, I'll set two face-down cards, to end my turn."

Tori – 8000, Kala – 7900

"Well, I would have expected more from you. Oh well. I suppose you can't be right about everything, can you?" sighed Kala. "Anyway, my move. I summon Yellow Gadget (1200/1200) to the field in attack mode! This monster allows me to draw another Gadget from my deck. So, I draw my Green Gadget to my hand. Next, I'll activate my face-down card, Ultimate Offering! With this, I can pay 500 life points and get another summoning this turn, so I summon Green Gadget (1400/600) in attack mode. (Kala 7900 – 500 7400) This will complete the cycle, allowing me to draw a Red Gadget from my deck to my hand. Now then, I activate Premature Burial. With this, I can summon Prototype Machine King from my graveyard, in attack mode (1600/1500). Also, since I have 3 other machines on the field, he gains an attack increase of 300 points (1900/1500). (Kala 7400 – 800 6600) Now my Machine King, go and attack Tori's Dunames Dark Witch and get your own back!" After a long turn of summoning weird-looking machine monsters, of all sorts of colours, Kala's reborn Machine King launched a barrage of rockets at Tori's monster, destroying it and also taking away some of Tori's life points (Tori 8000 – 1900 + 1800 7900). "And now Tori, I'll attack you directly with all of my Gadgets. Gadgets, attack!" (Tori 7900 – 1200 – 1300 – 1400 4000) The three gadget monster launched themselves at Tori, knocking her down to the ground. She then struggled to get up, having lost a lot of her energy.

Tori – 4000, Kala – 6600

Tori looked dormant. Surprised that her life points could take such a beating after just one turn, before which she had the upper hand. She looked as if she had lost the will to carry on with the match. "I need a way of rejuvenating my life points," she thought.

"You'd better think fast," said Kala. "I tell you what; I'll finish my turn and give you a bit of time to think then. I set one card face down, and end my turn. Sorry it wasn't any longer, but it's now your turn."

"Ok then," whispered Tori. Her voice was only just loud enough for Kala to hear her. Tori then drew her card, looked at it, and suddenly began to perk up. Evidently, she just drew a card that could turn the whole duel around. "Right then, it's time I just pulled off a move, as you've just done, and turn this around in my favour. First off, is my Pot of Greed card! No need to explain how this card works, but maybe you're a little slow. By playing this, I can draw two cards from my deck." She drew two cards, looked, and smiled even more than she did do before.

"What have you got to smile about then?" laughed Kala.

"Oh nothing," replied Tori. "Only that I drew more cards that will help me to win this game. I activate the spell card, Different Dimensional Designator! With this card, all I have to do is declare the name of any card I think could be in your hand, and if I guess right, then that card is removed from the game. If I guess wrong, then a random card in my hand will be removed instead. I so happen to know that you have a Red Gadget in your hand, so by removing it, you'll stop searching them out for a little while.

"I wouldn't think so Tori," replied Kala. "Sorry to spoil your fun, but I activate the trap card, Dramatic Rescue! By activating this card, I can add one monster on the field to my hand, and then special summon any monster I have in my hand to the field."

"And, how will that help?" asked Tori, not catching on to how this is a counter strategy.

"Well, this will get rid of the Red Gadget in my hand. Since you've already declared Red Gadget, then I'll return the Yellow Gadget on the field to my hand, and in response, summon Red Gadget (1300/1500) to the field in attack mode! But, more importantly, I no longer have Red Gadget in my hand for you to destroy. I have two yellow gadgets though, since I can draw another one from summoning Red Gadget to the field." At this, Tori just bowed her head once again, and sighed under her breath. "Now then, I believe this means I can get rid of a random card in your hand, can't I?"

"Yeah, you can," whispered Tori. She seemed to have gone back to the same state of mind she was in a few moments before.

"Fine then. Show me your hand then." Tori held up her hand, showing four cards. "The one on the far left then." Tori discarded the specified card in her hand, showing it to be 'Lightning Gear – Skyflash.' "Ok then, carry on with your turn then." Tori lifted her head up at these words. She looked somehow angry. Her eyes burned with passion.

"Time to end things," she said. "I summon Royal Knight (1300/800) in attack mode! This is a monster that hardly gets use din my deck, but now I have a reason for using it. If Royal Knight destroys a monster in battle, then that card's attack value is added to my life points. So now, I attack your Red Gadget with Royal Knight! Celestial Slash attack!" Tori's new, white knight lunged at the red machine monster. The sword of her knight struck down the monster's body, spawning a large crack down the middle of it. In response, the Red Gadget fired a small laser pistol at Royal Knight. Both monsters exploded into a shower of small pieces of debris. (Tori 4000 + 1300 5300) Tori looked unscathed by the subsequent cloud of dust that passed by the two of them, while Kala raised her arm to block out the dust. "I set one face down card, bringing my total to 3 face-downs, and end my turn."

Tori – 5300, Kala - 6600

"This isn't the end, as you think it to be," growled Kala. "It is far from over. I activate the trap card, Time Machine! This card brings back a monster on my field which was destroyed in this turn. So welcome back, Red Gadget! (1300/1500). Now then, let's finish this. My move!" she shouted, as she drew a card from her deck.

"Well first off, I activate Multi-Draw," replied Tori. "I can activate Multi-Draw during your stand-by phase, and if it is still in play by the end of my turn, and I have nothing in my hand, I get to draw 5 cards during my next draw phase. You may continue." (At this stage, Tori has only one card left in her hand)

"Good. I summon Yellow Gadget (1200/1200) in attack mode, allowing me to draw Green Gadget to my hand! And now, I attack your life points with all my monsters, ending the duel," said Kala. She seemed to be frustrated a bit more than usual.

"I trigger a trap card," said Tori, quietly. "I use Hallowed Life Barrier. By discarding one card in my hand, I can negate all damage done to me in this turn. So I'll discard Lightning Gear Ouka in my hand, to return the turn flow to me. Now then, since I have nothing in hand, and Multi-Draw is still in play, I draw five cards."

"How can you…" said Kala.

"I activate the spell card, Monster Reincarnation," replied Tori. Oblivious to the fact that anyone was talking to her. "With this, I can discard one card in my hand, and add Lightning Gear Ouka to my hand. Then, I'll summon my Lightning Gear monster to the field, in attack mode. (2400/1400) My monster can run right over your Machine King. Ouka, launch your lightning blast, attack. Obliterate her King." Ouka launched a stream of yellow lightning at the Machine King, bursting it into millions of tiny pieces. (Machine King has 2000 attack points, due to four machines being on the field) (Kala 6600 – 2400 + 2000 6200). Kala seemed to be thinking something to herself. She realises that Ouka is destroyed at the end of the turn it is summoned, if it is summoned without a sacrifice. This leads her to believe that Tori has begun to duel relentlessly.

Tori – 5300, Kala – 6200

Isaaru was lying down on his bed, thinking about the match he just had against Andrew. He was still distraught about his loss.

"How?" asked Isaaru, to himself. He continually said the same word over and over again, for around 5 minutes. He then decided he should go outside his room, just to check on a few things. As soon as he tried to open the door, Edo opened it for him, from the other side of the door.

"Well Isaaru, good to see you've decided to start walking again," said Edo, cheerfully. "Follow me please."

"Where are we going?" asked Isaaru.

"To see your sister lose herself in a duel," replied Edo. "I've been watching your sister's qualifying match on the television screens we have around the complex, and she's losing herself."

"How's she doing in the duel itself?" asked Isaaru.

"Not too badly, she still has lots of life points left, and so has her opponent, so they both have a long way to go. The thing is, she's lost herself in the duel. She isn't acting herself. Her attitude is completely different from when she started the duel."

"What can I do about it?"

"We thought that maybe seeing her brother may bring her spirits back. So, I'm taking you to the duel by this mobile transport unit that we have. We'll be there in about a minute or two. I just hope she doesn't lose before we get there."

"Me too," replied Isaaru. He cared very much for his Sister, and so was obviously very nervous about what might happen in the duel. "Don't worry sis. I'm coming for you."

Tori – 5300, Kala – 6200

Having realised an obvious change in Tori's attitude, Kala suddenly snapped into her duelling frame of mind again.

"Now, she has no monsters on her field, and two cards face down," thought Kala to herself. "Before, I attacked with everything, and she didn't activate either of her face-down cards, so I wouldn't think they're any threat to me. Her duelling style has changed immensely, and I don't think she realises she's left herself wide open. Now is my chance to attack, but I'll have to keep my attack within the cards I have out right now, just in case she triggers something to my summoning of a monster."

"Come on Kala," shouted Tori, who seemed to be getting worse and worse, the more the duel persisted. "I'm waiting for you. I don't exactly want to be entered into the tournament in ten hours time do I?"

"Fine then, my move!" replied Kala, drawing a card from her duel disk. "I attack your life points directly with all four of my gadget monsters!" (Tori 5300 – 1200 – 1300 – 1300 – 1400 100) Tori suddenly snapped into her senses, just as she was struck by 4 brightly coloured, yellow, green and red lasers. She fell to her knees once again, and clutched her stomach in pain. She appeared to look exactly like she did do before she began to lose herself in the duel. She looked saddened, and had once again lost the will to continue. With 100 life points remaining, it became clear to her that she did not have much longer left in the match before she lost.

Tori – 100, Kala – 6200.

Suddenly, a door opened at the top of the arena, and two men burst through it. They were Edo and Isaaru, who had managed to reach to duel arena. Isaaru hurried down the stairs of the stands, and ran up to the side of the duel arena. Tori looked up at him, and a small smile started to creep onto her face.

"Tori!" shouted Isaaru.

"Yes," she replied, quietly, still distraught.

"I know you can do this, sis," cried Isaaru. "I know you can. You helped me to win that tournament, and now I'm going to help you into this one. Just snap out of it sis!" Suddenly, Tori opened her eyes, and realised what she was doing. She stood up on her feet, and looked straight at Kala. She appeared to look herself again. She then looked down at Isaaru, and winked at him, smiling. Isaaru, started smiling too, and sat down to watch the end of the match.

"Kala," said Tori. "I'm sorry for being how I was. I wasn't focused on our match. But now, I'm fully focused on this, and I promise I won't disappoint this crowd. I activate my two face-down cards! Two copies, of Damage Condenser! With these, I can summon two monsters from my deck that have an attack value equal to, or less than the damage you just dealt to me. Therefore, I get two monsters that have less than 1400 attack points. I summon Green Declarer (300/500) and Purple Declarer (300/500), both in attack mode!"

"Nice move," replied Kala, now smiling. "Let's see how this goes. I summon Robotic Knight #1 (1600/1800) in defence mode!" A robotic soldier appeared on the field, holding a golden sword in one arm, and with a green machine gun turret on the other arm. "As long as this stays on the field in defence mode, all my machine monsters gain a boost of 500 attack and defence points."

(2100/2300) Robotic Knight #1

(1700/1700) Yellow Gadget

(1800/2000) Red Gadget

(1900/1100) Green Gadget

"Now, I also equip the spell card 7 Completed to my Robotic Knight, which gives my machine an extra 700 defence points, giving it a total of 3000 defence points (2100/3000), so it is that much harder to get past. And now, it's your move!"

"Nice move," said Tori, obviously beginning to enjoy the match. "Now, let's see what I can come up with." She rested her palm on the top of her deck, but hesitated for a moment.

"Come on Tori," cried Isaaru. "You can do it." With that, she pulled the top card of her deck from her duel disk, looked at it, and smiled.

"Now, I sacrifice my two monsters to summon this! Guardian Angel Joan! (2800/2000)" Tori threw down the very card that Isaaru gave to her. A bright light filled the field, and her two monsters disappeared, a beautiful white angel appeared from the light, and descended upon the field. Kala raised a hand to the light, as it dazzled her, and everyone watching it. "It's time to throw this duel back into my favour Kala. Time for the duel of your life!"

END (To be continued)

Next time (Chapter 6: The qualifying round! Machines vs. Fairies! (Part Two))

Tori summons the all powerful Guardian Angel Joan. Her special ability allows her to revive many of the life points she lost during the duel, and take a large chunk out of Kala's life points. Kala responds with a series of Robotic Knight monsters, which manage to defend her life points, until she draws a card which allows her to unify their powers, and possibly win her the game. Meanwhile, Dominic finds his way into Andrew Roswell's office. As Andrew is approached, he takes an interest in Dominic, and offers him a place in the tournament, as an exterminator. As Andrew introduces his new exterminator the other three he has hired, he reveals to all of his tournament participants, to layout of the tournament they will be competing in, revealing a big surprise to all of the participants. Especially Isaaru.

New cards used in this chapter (which are not in the TCG):

Multi-Draw

Continuous Trap / TRAP

This card can only be activated during your opponent's stand-by phase. If this card is face-up on the field during the end phase of the turn it is activated, and you have no cards in your hand, you can remove this face-up card from play to draw 5 cards during your next draw phase.

Divine Protector Exordo

Rock / Effect

EARTH

0 / 4000 / 8

(This card is being released in the Earth structure deck, as the main nomi monster, so I won't go to any lengths to find its effect for you)

Red Gadget

Machine / Effect

EARTH

1300 / 1500 / 4

When this card is summoned to the field (excluding flip summon), add one "Yellow Gadget" from your deck to your hand.

Yellow Gadget

Machine / Effect

EARTH

1200 / 1200 / 4

When this card is summoned to the field (excluding flip summon), add one "Green Gadget" from your deck to your hand.

Green Gadget

Machine / Effect

EARTH

1400 / 600 / 4

When this card is summoned to the field (excluding flip summon), add one "Red Gadget" from your deck to your hand.

Robotic Knight #1

Machine / Effect

EARTH

1600 / 1800 / 4

This card's name is treated as "Robotic Knight" while it is face-up on the field. As long as this card is face-up on your side of the field, in defense position, increase the ATK and DEF of all machine type monsters on your side of the field by 500 points.


End file.
